The Thief and the Cobbler Archive Official | Raggedy Ann (Rag Dolly) Act 2 Lost Broadway Musical ESIPA 1984 Joe Raposo William Gibson Ivy Austin @TheThiefArchive | Uploaded January 2022 | Updated October 2024, 9 hours ago.
Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure (aka Rag Dolly) is a dark fantasy musical with a book by William Gibson and music and lyrics by Joe Raposo. It is based on the children's stories by Johnny Gruelle and is loosely related to the 1977 feature film Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure, which included several of the same songs. The story centers on Marcella, a dying young girl whose toys come to life and take her on a magical adventure to meet The Doll Doctor, in hopes that he can mend her broken heart. The show created a controversy in Albany in 1984. It was a renowned sensation in Moscow in 1985. It was a notorious flop on Broadway in 1986. By 2021 it went on to develop a cult following through bootleg recordings.
Ambitious young fans have recently been gathering rare production materials in a preservation effort to ensure an American revival.
(The 1977 animated film Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure, directed by Richard Williams, was rereleased in 2008 and 2021 by film restorationist Garrett Gilchrist. Despite a related effort by researcher Vinnie Rattolle, information about the 1984-1986 Rag Dolly stage musical was hard to come by until about 2020.)
Raggedy Ann (AKA Rag Dolly) opened on Broadway in the Nederlander Theatre on October 16th, 1986 and closed on October 19th, 1986. With a book by William Gibson (of The Miracle Worker fame) and music by Joe Raposo (best known for his work on Sesame Street), the show had a history of controversy due to its dark themes and subject matter. Due to its failed broadway run, the show faded into obscurity and became lost.
The show starred Ivy Austin as Raggedy Ann. It was performed in Moscow as a cultural outreach project, as detailed in the documentary "Rag Dolly in the USSR."
In February 2021, the Raggedy Ann Revival Effort (RARE) was formed. It is a group of volunteer lost media enthusiasts and theatre fans dedicated to preserving and reviving this lost musical. Since the founding of the group, several scripts, photos, a full recording of one of the performances, and other media have been recovered.
On September 1st, a full recording of a performance from the first ESIPA production obtained by RARE was uploaded to the Rag Dolly youtube channel. This footage has not seen the light of day since 1984. What make this particular production interesting is that this run of the show was closed early due to a parent who went to the local news station to warn others not to bring their children to see the show.
Even though video footage of the full show has been found, the search is not over. RARE is still looking for licensing and copyright for a potential revival, as well as rumored video of the Kennedy Center, Moscow, and Broadway productions of the musical.
Act I
"Overture" – Orchestra
"Gingham and Yarn" – Company
"Carry On" – Poppa
"Diagnosis" – Doctors
"The Light" – Marcella and Dolls
"Make Believe" – Raggedy Ann & General D. (Broadway only)
"Blue" – The Camel & Raggedy Ann
"Mexico" (Raggedy Andy and company, ESIPA only)
"Make Believe (reprise 1)" – Raggedy Ann, Marcella, Dolls & Company
"Make Believe (reprise 2)" – Raggedy Ann & Marcella
"Quiet Night/ Something in the Air" – Company
"Delighted" – Clouds
"So Beautiful" – Raggedy Ann, Marcella & Clouds
"A Heavenly Chorus" – Yellow Yum-Yum
"The Shooting Star" – Mommy, Poppa, and The Rat in the Rolls Royce
"The Wedding" – Company
"Rag Dolly" – Raggedy Ann
Act II
"Gingham and Yarn (reprise)" – Company
"You'll Never Get Away/You'll Love It" – Bat, Raggedy Andy & the Batettes
"A Little Music" – Marcella, Raggedy Ann and Dolls
"Gone" – Dolls & Company
"Why Not?" – Mommy
"What Did I Lose?" – Mommy
"Somewhere" – Raggedy Ann
"Welcome to L.A." – Nurses
"Diagnosis (reprise)" – Doctors
"I Come Riding" – General D.
"Gingham and Yarn (reprise)" – Company
"Rag Dolly (Finale)" – Cast
Cast
Doctors: Gary O. Aldrich, Scott Evans and William McClary, or Gary O. Aldrich, Joe Barrett and Neal Ben-Ari, or Joe Barrett, Dick Decareau and Richard Ryder
Poppa / The Doll Doctor: MacIntyre Dixon, Gibby Brand, Bob Morrisey
Marcella: Tricia Brooks, Lisa Rieffel
Raggedy Ann: Ivy Austin
Raggedy Andy: Scott Schafer
Baby Doll: Carolyn Marble Valentis
Panda: Jeanne Vigliante, Michelan Sisti
General D.: Paul Haggard, David Schramm, Leo Burmester
Bat / Yellow Yum-Yum (aka Tweety): Pamela Sousa, Gail Benedict
Wolf / Red Fang: Tom Pleto, Gordon Weiss
Camel with the Wrinkled Knees: Joel Aroeste
Mommy / Witch: Elizabeth Austin
Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure (aka Rag Dolly) is a dark fantasy musical with a book by William Gibson and music and lyrics by Joe Raposo. It is based on the children's stories by Johnny Gruelle and is loosely related to the 1977 feature film Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure, which included several of the same songs. The story centers on Marcella, a dying young girl whose toys come to life and take her on a magical adventure to meet The Doll Doctor, in hopes that he can mend her broken heart. The show created a controversy in Albany in 1984. It was a renowned sensation in Moscow in 1985. It was a notorious flop on Broadway in 1986. By 2021 it went on to develop a cult following through bootleg recordings.
Ambitious young fans have recently been gathering rare production materials in a preservation effort to ensure an American revival.
(The 1977 animated film Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure, directed by Richard Williams, was rereleased in 2008 and 2021 by film restorationist Garrett Gilchrist. Despite a related effort by researcher Vinnie Rattolle, information about the 1984-1986 Rag Dolly stage musical was hard to come by until about 2020.)
Raggedy Ann (AKA Rag Dolly) opened on Broadway in the Nederlander Theatre on October 16th, 1986 and closed on October 19th, 1986. With a book by William Gibson (of The Miracle Worker fame) and music by Joe Raposo (best known for his work on Sesame Street), the show had a history of controversy due to its dark themes and subject matter. Due to its failed broadway run, the show faded into obscurity and became lost.
The show starred Ivy Austin as Raggedy Ann. It was performed in Moscow as a cultural outreach project, as detailed in the documentary "Rag Dolly in the USSR."
In February 2021, the Raggedy Ann Revival Effort (RARE) was formed. It is a group of volunteer lost media enthusiasts and theatre fans dedicated to preserving and reviving this lost musical. Since the founding of the group, several scripts, photos, a full recording of one of the performances, and other media have been recovered.
On September 1st, a full recording of a performance from the first ESIPA production obtained by RARE was uploaded to the Rag Dolly youtube channel. This footage has not seen the light of day since 1984. What make this particular production interesting is that this run of the show was closed early due to a parent who went to the local news station to warn others not to bring their children to see the show.
Even though video footage of the full show has been found, the search is not over. RARE is still looking for licensing and copyright for a potential revival, as well as rumored video of the Kennedy Center, Moscow, and Broadway productions of the musical.
Act I
"Overture" – Orchestra
"Gingham and Yarn" – Company
"Carry On" – Poppa
"Diagnosis" – Doctors
"The Light" – Marcella and Dolls
"Make Believe" – Raggedy Ann & General D. (Broadway only)
"Blue" – The Camel & Raggedy Ann
"Mexico" (Raggedy Andy and company, ESIPA only)
"Make Believe (reprise 1)" – Raggedy Ann, Marcella, Dolls & Company
"Make Believe (reprise 2)" – Raggedy Ann & Marcella
"Quiet Night/ Something in the Air" – Company
"Delighted" – Clouds
"So Beautiful" – Raggedy Ann, Marcella & Clouds
"A Heavenly Chorus" – Yellow Yum-Yum
"The Shooting Star" – Mommy, Poppa, and The Rat in the Rolls Royce
"The Wedding" – Company
"Rag Dolly" – Raggedy Ann
Act II
"Gingham and Yarn (reprise)" – Company
"You'll Never Get Away/You'll Love It" – Bat, Raggedy Andy & the Batettes
"A Little Music" – Marcella, Raggedy Ann and Dolls
"Gone" – Dolls & Company
"Why Not?" – Mommy
"What Did I Lose?" – Mommy
"Somewhere" – Raggedy Ann
"Welcome to L.A." – Nurses
"Diagnosis (reprise)" – Doctors
"I Come Riding" – General D.
"Gingham and Yarn (reprise)" – Company
"Rag Dolly (Finale)" – Cast
Cast
Doctors: Gary O. Aldrich, Scott Evans and William McClary, or Gary O. Aldrich, Joe Barrett and Neal Ben-Ari, or Joe Barrett, Dick Decareau and Richard Ryder
Poppa / The Doll Doctor: MacIntyre Dixon, Gibby Brand, Bob Morrisey
Marcella: Tricia Brooks, Lisa Rieffel
Raggedy Ann: Ivy Austin
Raggedy Andy: Scott Schafer
Baby Doll: Carolyn Marble Valentis
Panda: Jeanne Vigliante, Michelan Sisti
General D.: Paul Haggard, David Schramm, Leo Burmester
Bat / Yellow Yum-Yum (aka Tweety): Pamela Sousa, Gail Benedict
Wolf / Red Fang: Tom Pleto, Gordon Weiss
Camel with the Wrinkled Knees: Joel Aroeste
Mommy / Witch: Elizabeth Austin
